Woodridge plans new housing for seniors

Strategic plan for next year also includes a new bike path

A 93-unit senior citizens housing development is expected to break ground this fall in Woodridge, according to a newly released 2012-13 village strategic plan.

The four-story, 96,000-square-foot development will be built on 3.4 acres near Janes Avenue and 83rd Street and will provide independent living for senior citizens.

Michael Mays, Woodridge director of community development, said a desire for senior housing had been expressed at village meetings and on a community survey.

"Residents have expressed a desire to remain in Woodridge as their housing needs change or to have family members who need senior housing living nearby," said Mays.

The village sold the land to the Alden Foundation for $300,000 in July, according to documents. The Alden Foundation has 27 locations in the Chicago area. Some facilities include rehabilitation and nursing care, while others, like the Woodridge development, are for more active senior citizens who can live independently.

The village will also expand its multifamily licensing program, which will require all landlords to take a crime-free housing seminar by Aug. 1, 2014, according to the strategic plan.

"As a result of the recession, many property owners in the Chicago area became landlords involuntarily, unable to sell homes or condos," said Mays. "This class serves as an educational tool to help them be better landlords."

Landlords pay $90 to $145 per building plus a $10-per-unit fee for the seminar. The village passed the licensing ordinance in the early 1990s and uses the money to inspect the buildings, according to documents.

The strategic plan also said the village, along with the Will County Forest Preserve District and the Illinois Tollway Authority, would break ground on a 1-mile, $928,108 bike path from Internationale Parkway to Bluff Road. The trail will link Woodridge to the Southern DuPage County Regional Trail, Centennial Trail, I&M Canal State Trail and Route 66 Bikeway.

The village's portion of the project is capped at $100,000, according to Woodridge director of public works Chris Bethel. He said the money would be paid by the nearby developer of the Park 355 industrial development, which was a stipulation of the development agreement. The rest of the funds will come from grants from the Will County Forest Preserve and the Tollway Authority.